


Revelation

by Lieju



Category: Indiana Jones Series
Genre: M/M, Raiders of the Lost Ark - Freeform, Suicidal Thoughts, kinda depressing i guess, people being bitter and making bad decisions, questionable archaeology, references to period typical homophobia and antisemitism, some possible headcanons, some sexual content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22584307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieju/pseuds/Lieju
Summary: Marion is dead and all Indiana wants to do is get drunk and forget.”You want to talk to God?”But Belloq is determined to not let him have even that.”Let's go see him together.”Indiana closes his eyes and nods. What does it matter anymore?”I've got nothing better to do.”
Relationships: Rene Belloq/Henry "Indiana" Jones
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. I got nothing better to do

Indiana Jones breathed in deep, fighting off the sudden wave of nausea, and wondered why he had agreed to enter this bar. He had been fully content drinking his way toward unconsciousness outside.

He wasn't interested in what Belloq had to say. All he wanted was to be left alone.

And forget.

With the help of cheap liquor if he had to.

If Belloq wanted to get under his skin he was wasting his time.

“What about your boss, der Fuhrer? I thought he was waiting to take possession of the Ark,” Indiana asked.

He noted with some bitter joy that for the first time the other man seemed uncomfortable.

”When I am finished with it,” Belloq hissed. ”Jones, do you realize what the Ark is?” He grasped Indiana's hand, finally getting him to tense up. ”It's a _transmitter_. It's a radio for speaking to God. And it's within my reach.”

Indiana turned to face him properly and the driven expression on his rival's face made him realize something.

He had given up.

Marion was dead.

Because of him.

Indiana no longer cared about the Ark.

”You want to talk to God?” he asked.

Belloq's fingers tightened around his and he told him: ”Let's go see him together.”

Indiana met his eyes and for a fraction of a second he was envious the other man could still feel _something._

So he closed his eyes and nodded. ”I've got nothing better to do.”

* * *

”I must voice my objection,” Colonel Dietrich told Belloq.

Belloq liked to think he managed to keep most of the annoyance he felt off his face. ”Duly noted.”

He turned back to his work, hoping the German would take the hint.

He did not. ”I do not trust the American. Any information we get out of him will likely be false.”

”He wants to find the Ark as much as I do. As much as any archaeologist worth their salt would. Make no mistake, I am not trusting him. But I _know_ him.”

”I still think we should just shoot the bastard.”

”All in good time,” Belloq assured him.

He busied himself with his calculations and finally the soldier left him alone.

What an idiot! No one here had any actual understanding of the importance of this work!

Except Jones...

Belloq turned to look at the tent. Maybe he had managed to sober up by now.

* * *

Indiana was vaguely aware he had been dragged into a truck, guns aimed at him. How he had ended up tied up in a tent was more of a mystery. He closed his eyes and winced at the pain thudding at his skull. Not something he wanted to think about right now. Given the choice he'd rather sleep forever.

He was not, however, given the choice.

He could hear someone entering the tent and struggled to turn to see who it was.

”Belloq!”

Of course.

”I see you have finally woken up,” Belloq said. ”I hope you have your wits about you more now. You weren't much of a conversationalist yesterday.”

”Sorry, I don't know how much in the mood I will be for that, being tied up.”

Belloq waved his hand dismissively. ”Always in such a hurry.” He reached behind Indiana and he could feel the ropes tying him to the tent pole loosening.

Indiana pulled himself free and rubbed his wrists to get the blood flowing again. ”Just a friendly warning, I might stab you in the back,” he told Belloq as the other man disappeared into the other side of the small division, ”Just so you would get the pleasure of experiencing being in the receiving end at least once.”

Belloq returned with a plate of fruit and a bottle of water. ”And then what? Run into the night? We are middle of a Nazi camp, Jones. Trying to escape would be suicide.”

Indiana's lips twisted into a smile. ”Maybe I feel a bit differently about throwing my life away than I did a few days ago.”

”Then you might as well see this through and come see the Ark with me,” Belloq pointed out.

”Did you find it?”

”We will soon. With or without your help.” He gestured at the food on the small table between them. ”You should eat.”

Indiana took a sip of the water. ”What's my role in this? Like you said you will find it with or without me.”

”Believe it or not, Doctor Jones, but my motives aren't complicated. I am tired of the company of idiots.” He moved closer until he was sitting next to Indiana. He waved his hand. ”Just one braincell between them and even that can only go 'Heil Hitler' most of the time.”

Indiana took a bite of the apple. ”Entertainment? That's what I am?”

Indiana tensed as Belloq reached a hand to gently turn his face towards him.

”Don't you want to see what is inside the Ark?” he asked.

Before Indiana could respond Belloq pulled him into a kiss.

He tensed at the feeling of his rival's desperate lips on his.

Belloq pulled away. Indiana stared at him.

It wasn't a surprise, now that he thought about it. He had never had much reason to think about Belloq's love life but these sort of inclinations hardly came as a shock.

”I see,” he managed. ”Of course.”

He wasn't certain what he meant by that. He hoped he could feel anything but numb. But one feeling managed to bubble into the surface. He wanted to _hurt_ Belloq.

”What would your little friends think? If they knew they were taking orders from a homosexual?” It wasn't enough. He wanted Belloq to _react._ Anything but that smug smile. ”A homosexual _and_ a Jew-”

He caught Belloq's hand before the slap could connect with his face. Indiana grinned.

”A Jew?” Belloq asked, his voice low. ”Barely.”

”Enough for them,” Indiana pointed out.

If René wanted him for conversation he was willing to provide. And drag out every inconvenient piece of information René had confided in him back when they had been young.

Such as the little detail that his mother had gone to great lengths to hide her background.

René had only spoken to him about it once, back when they had been friends, just two very drunk university students. And Indiana had never felt the need to drag it out into the open. It wasn't his secret, or even just René's... But he wanted René to know he remembered.

René tried to pull away. Indiana tightened his grip on his wrist and slipped his other arm around him to keep him from fleeing.

He turned towards him, his breath hot on his face.

”What's your game, Belloq?”

”I already told you.”

Indiana examined his expression. Maybe he was telling the truth for once. He did have the look of a man on a quest.

René still wanted something.

Indiana pulled him into a kiss. It was eagerly returned and René allowed him to push him down on the pillows.

Indiana climbed on top of him, pulling at his clothing, trying to get his shirt off. Maybe he was just desperate to feel anything. Maybe it just had been too long since he had gotten laid and his body just wanted release and didn't care the warm body under him was male.

Although the growing erection Indiana could feel brushing against his leg did nothing to lessen his arousal.

René embraced him and moaned into the kiss and Indiana had to admit to himself it was _him_.

He wanted _Belloq._

Maybe because he was drawn to the passion the other man still had towards history.

Maybe just because this was a terrible idea and he wanted René to hurt.

But it didn't matter.

They were both desperate for this.


	2. On one condition

Indy tensed slightly as the other archeologist's arm snaked around his waist.

It wasn't the action itself that disturbed him, it was the casual nature of it.

If René took note of his reaction he didn't show it. Instead he pulled open the map of the dig site. “Let me show you what I've been working on.”

Indiana froze at the sight of the medallion on the table.

“Very good, isn't it?” René turned it in his hand. “A copy.”

“Have you located the Well of the souls yet?”

“No. Unfortunately not.” He handed the headpiece to Indy.

It was a good copy. But the weight was off, the finish too fresh, the tool marks ever so slightly wrong. Not the same as the real one. The one that had belonged to-

_Marion._

“The real one,” he stumbled with his words. “I don't have it. It was blown up.”

_With her._

“I'm sure you could think of something. Any little detail. You held the real thing in your hands, after all.”

Indiana examined it. The medallion replica was good work but whatever information René had been working with had been incomplete. The real one had had writing on the other side as well. Not that he was going to volunteer that information-

“As you can see I only had one side to work with,” René said, eying him like a hawk.

“Well, I can't help you with that,” Indiana said. “Even if I wanted to.”

This time he didn't tense at René's hand brushing against his nape of neck.

Indiana couldn't still quite figure him out.

But he had the nasty feeling the gesture was more than a little bit possessive.

That his smug assertion that he could take anything from Indiana he wanted included him as well.

Indiana wasn't all that convinced Belloq could feel anything like love, and he had the nasty feeling the way René looked at him was all-too similar to the hungry looks he gave to ancient relics he had claimed for himself.

That for him Indiana was just one more thing for him to claim as a trophy.

And that wasn't an attitude Indy was willing to entertain.

He took hold of René's hand, squeezing his wrist with only slightly more force than necessary.

“If you think I will help the Nazis your brain has been softened by the Egyptian sun even worse than I thought.”

“The Nazis? They're irrelevant.”

“They really are not.”

Indiana ran his thumb on René's wrist, almost gently, trying to figure out what the flash of emotion he had seen on his face was exactly.

“No one can truly possess the Ark, Jones. What does it matter if the Germans stick it in some dusty old museum? Let me guess, that's what _you_ were planning to do.”

“The agreement was that the museum would have it.”

“The Ark doesn't belong to any one man, any one place, any single time! But its secrets, if there are any to be had-” he leaned in closer and Indy found it impossible to look away from his eyes. “Its secrets are _mine_.”

He looked Indiana straight in the eye and yet for a fraction of a second Indy had the distinct feeling he wasn't talking to him. That the other archaeologist was not fully present in this moment. Indiana blinked and the look was gone as soon as it had appeared.

And when René spoke again his gaze was deliberate, observant, as if he was evaluating Indy's reaction. “They can be yours too, Indiana.”

“I'm supposed to think you'd be willing to share?”

“I thought you understood,” René spat out.

Indiana looked him in the eye. Even with everything that had happened Indiana still didn't agree they were the same. There was a distinct difference, some lines Indiana wasn't willing to cross, some purer motivation-

But René was right in that they were very similar. Regardless of Belloq's methods and willingness to sell artifacts for the highest bidder he was still, at his core, an archaeologist.

They had been friends once, when they had been young, and Indiana had liked him back then. Recognized a kindred spirit with similar passion for the past and unlocking its mysteries.

He had thought Belloq had changed.

The prospect that he really had _not_ was in some way terrifying. If he did still have love for the past it only lent credence to his insistence that Indiana could so easily become just like him.

The pit of Indiana's stomach curled up in disgust.

But also, at this very moment, he needed René. He needed someone to pull him back to the game. To reignite the passion for the hunt for the archaeological relics.

“Maybe I do,” Indiana spoke eventually.

René _was_ right. Indiana needed to see it. He was this close to the Ark so giving up now...

But did it matter?

He had been willing to die just a few days ago, so what difference did it make?

But still-

He'd see this through. At least this expedition. He wasn't certain what he'd do afterwards but one thing had to be taken care of.

“I can help, on one condition.”

“Hm?”

“You don't care what happens to the Ark anyway, right? Once you are done with it? For you it's all the same if it's sitting in a museum back in the States.”

“Yes, yes. That can be arranged.” René waved his hand dismissively.

Indiana considered his options. He didn't trust René to hold onto any bargain.

But he could trust René to be himself. He wanted the Ark, or rather the knowledge it contained, for himself. It was something Indiana could appreciate.

To unearth the ancient secrets, to hold history at the palm of his hand!

And once he'd have it-

René wouldn't care who had it once he was done with it, Indiana trusted him on that. Although even still there were no guarantees he'd keep his end of the bargain and help Indy to steal the Ark away. But he did want to find it.

And so did Indy.

So for now they did genuinely have a shared goal.

And Indiana needed to keep busy.

To avoid thinking about-

“I need to see the map room.”

“I will make the arrangements immediately.”

Yes, going along with Belloq's scheme made sense for the time being.

Later on he could always improvise.

* * *

“Careful, your little friends might get suspicious,” Indiana remarked.

René ignored him. “They're too busy goose-stepping around the dig-site, hoping that glaring at the pieces of rock and harassing the diggers will somehow make the Ark materialize from thin air.”

He fiddled with the lapels of Indiana's shirt. It wasn't a perfect fit, he had had to make do with what he could get middle of a desert and it wasn't easy finding quality clothes in Indiana's size...

The fresh shirt he had gotten him looked better than the dirty rags he had been wearing before but it wasn't properly tailored for him. It was almost a waste- Indiana was a good-looking man, and if the circumstances had been different René would have very much liked to put some effort into getting him to actually dress in a fashionable manner.

But there was no time for that and Indiana would have acted petulant and unreasonable about it anyway.

So René turned back to their work in the Map room. “I made sure we wouldn't be disturbed. We could fuck here and they'd be non the wiser.”

“That's your way of doing archeology? No wonder you haven't found the Ark yet.”

René surveyed the chamber, making sure to keep his hand on Indiana's arm.

He wasn't deluding himself. There was no love involved in the little tryst they had going on.

He wasn't even stupid enough to think Indiana did really _want_ him.

But they both wanted the Ark.

“I have shown you my calculations. There is no mistake.”

“No,” Indiana admitted. ”Based on the information you had you were correct. There must be some missing piece.”

Indiana moved to the staff and examined the base.

“Perhaps the angle is incorrect.”

“I considered it. But it would not match the overall symmetry of the chamber. I doubt they would compromise on the symbolism for that.”

“Maybe we need to consider the meaning of the chamber...” Indiana trailed off.

“Yes.” René watched him walk to the wall and run his fingers on the hieroglyphs, deep in thought.

“I mean what's the point of this little charade? Why bother with the staff in the first place? Why not just write down the instructions to find the Ark? It must be related to-”

As tantalizing as it was watching his mind at work René couldn't help interrupting him. “Trying to keep the Ark under control. It's ritualistic in nature.”

Indiana looked at him and René knew he had the same thought. “It's related to the sun. The staff of Ra! This isn't for the seekers of the Ark, this is a ritual for the sun god, Ra. They must have- This isn't a _map_ room, really. This thing isn't meant to mark the spot for people who want to find the Ark it's for-” he stopped struggling to find the right words.

“To create a connection with Ra,” René finished his thought. “The sun god they merged with other deities. Ammon-Ra, Ra-Horakhty... The other side of the medallion... Maybe it was dedicated to the Hebrew god?”

Indy shot him a look. ”An effort to merge Ra with the-”

”Why not? Claim it as a different aspect of Ra? An attempt to assimilate the Ark's power...” René turned to look at the miniature city. ”With this representation of the city. The Sun God looking down on the Ark's resting place... But how will this help us?”

”We could try looking at other similar ritualistic paraphernalia,” Indy pointed out. ”To try to form an educated guess for what was on the missing side.”

”Yes. We have a plan now-”

Without warning René was pushed against the stone wall. He gasped as the hard rock hit his back but was quickly silenced by a kiss.

It, and the hands on his body, were rough and aimless and difficult to decipher in their meaning.

René kissed back, slipping his arms around Indy.

He wondered how much of this was some childish attempt to throw all caution into the wind and expose them out of spite or some self-destructive tendency. René had thought Indiana had gotten over the little slump he had gotten into, but perhaps he really didn't care about things like getting caught. It was true that René had told the Germans to stay behind, but Dietrich wasn't to be trusted to follow his orders, so if Indiana indeed was planning to have sex here René wasn't going to let things go _that_ far.

But there was no problem in indulging a little-

And then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended.

Indiana stepped away from him and turned around before René could get a good look at his face.

Indy walked to the opening and gave the signal to the crew outside.

”Hey, we're ready.”

* * *

”How is our American guest?”

René twirled the glass of wine. Just as he had suspected. Dietrich had almost immediately jumped into this topic as soon as he and René had sat down for dinner.

”Very useful. He has been able to provide me with invaluable information.”

” _Trustworthy_ information, I hope.”

”Is this nervousness I detect? Don't tell me the mighty German war machine is terrified of one man. One currently _unarmed_ man detained middle of a desert camp?”

”Not nervousness. I just see no reason to keep him around, and I am aware of his reputation. Major Toht has recommended we at least let him interrogate Doctor Jones.”

René stopped to consider the disgusting little Gestapo creep. How big of a problem he might become? No, he was simple, easy to control at least if he kept Indiana away from him. He wouldn't try to act on his own. No, the problem was Dietrich who seemed to have made it his life mission to question every single move René made.

René allowed some exasperation to sneak into his tone. ”You think like a soldier. Doctor Jones is not one. He is an archaeologist. His true allegiance is not to a country or any political ideology, it's to the study of history. If he can be a part of the greatest discovery of the century, he will take it without a question.”

The soldier still looked unconvinced. Of course. He was a mindless brute with no love of history, just like the rest of his anti-intellectual ilk. René would have to think of simpler motivations to convince him Indiana would co-operate.

”And of course, the money I promised I would eventually pay him won't hurt,” René said, hoping Dietrich would buy the money motive for Indiana.

”You say 'promised'?”

René could spot the look in the soldier's eye. He smiled.

Ah yes. Of course.

”I have of course no intention of sharing the considerable price I have been promised upon delivering the Ark to the Fuhrer. But Jones believes I would be willing to part with the money. He's mistaken.”

”You do aim to get him killed?”

The eagerness in his tone betrayed him. Dietrich wanted to believe that.

”Of course. But I am not a fool. I do not throw anything away if I can still benefit from it and Jones is still very useful to us. But once the time comes I will make sure personally he will be disposed of.” He leaned in forward, lowering his voice, as if he was letting him in on a secret. ”He has been a thorn in my side for far too long. I will take great pleasure in ridding myself from him once and for all but simply putting him against a wall and pulling the trigger is not enough. But imagine, if you will, Jones at the moment of his triumph, and then and only then-” he snapped his fingers, ”Will it all be taken away from him.”

This seemed to satisfy Dietrich. René resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the small minded sadism of his dining companion.

Oh, he was planning for an ultimate victory over Indiana.

Show him the Ark.

Discover it with him.

Open it with Indiana at his side-

The soldier had no way of understanding what this was really about.

The greatest find of Indiana's career and he would know he only get to it because of René.

When René would open the Ark, with the one person at his side who actually understood the significance of the action, his victory over Indiana would be perfect and complete.

The Ark-

For a fraction of a second he could almost sense it calling to him through the desert sands. Some kind of a signal that echoed through the ages-

He lifted the glass of wine to his lips.

He couldn't let himself be distracted by flights of fancy.

He busied himself with his dinner, trying not to let it show just how little he wanted to be there. He and Indiana had just been near a breakthrough, he wanted to return to his tent to continue their work.

They had much to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of René's dialogue about the Ark in this chapter is directly from the novelization.


End file.
